What it Takes to Be a Physician I.T. Champion
October 2004
Clayton Hudnall, M.D., just couldn't take it anymore.
His practice, Urology San Antonio, comprises 18 physicians spread out across six clinics and a surgery center. A few years ago Hudnall and his peers realized that the old ways of doing business weren't working.
Patient records were being transported by hand to multiple clinics, creating a paper trail that was difficult to track. Urology San Antonio also was bleeding money via high transcription costs and subpar coding.
What the practice needed, doctors decided, was information technology. But their project needed a flag-bearer to champion the cause and lead implementation across the political and financial battlefields it had to cross. That champion was Hudnall.
"I became a champion by being just stupid enough to stick my neck out there," he recalls.
Leader. Taskmaster. Translator. Rainmaker. A physician I.T. champion has to wear many hats when they're riding in the saddle of an I.T. implementation. CIOs and other I.T. professionals typically are the technological "face" of I.T. implementations. However, the catalysts for I.T. progress often are physician I.T. champions who, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes fearfully, put their reputations on the line to guide an implementation before, during and after software is installed.
The reason that some have decided to advocate I.T. is simple-someone has to do it. The success of I.T. implementations hinges on whether doctors will accept new technology. And most will not listen to anyone else but a peer.
"You can ask physicians to look up results on a computer, but if you're trying to install an electronic record or order entry system, you must have a physician I.T. champion-it's not worth it to even try without one," says Melinda Costin, vice president of implementation services at Houston-based HealthLink Inc., a consulting firm. "Doctors follow no one. But they will listen to their peers."
But who in their right mind would volunteer for such a role? With all the risks involved, it's a fair question.
Ironically, physician I.T. champions often aren't the techno-geeks who would seem to be a natural fit for the job. Many are "Average Joe" practitioners who, through one experience or another, have become convinced that information technology is critical to the future of their organization-and profession.
"Any kid is a whole lot better with a computer than I am," says Bud McDowell, M.D., a partner at Middlesex Cardiology Practice, Middletown, Conn. McDowell spearheaded the group's implementation of an electronic medical records systems-from New York-based Amicore. "I'm 52 years old, and this is all new stuff to me. But I have seen how technology can make a difference. Yes, it can be hard at first, but if you're willing to learn something new it can make your life a whole lot better."
In fact, being a technology guru can be a hindrance rather than an advantage for a physician I.T. champion, some experts contend.
However, being an I.T. champion does require a basic understanding of software and the lingua franca of technology, says Nathan Beraha, M.D., medical director of Anchor Medical Associates in Lincoln, R.I. Beraha led the practice's initiative to implement a Web-based practice management system and use online claims transactions services from Waltham, Mass.-based athenahealth.
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